Champions League? What Champions League? Using the standards cheerfully embraced by our fellow American sports, we hereby declare the 2012 LA Galaxy team champions of the world.

After a rough midweek for MLS ambitions at the hands of Mexican teams, it’s back to domestic action as MLS gears up for week three — where perhaps we’ll see the first frontrunners for the honor of being beaten up on south of the border sometime in spring 2016.

We get under way on Saturday with New England vs Vancouver (Sat 2pm, Gillette Stadium, CTV BC/CSN-NE) and a chance for the Revs to put right two defeats to the two teams who’ve probably had the sharpest starts in the East — Houston and Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Vancouver will set out to prove their week one hammering of New York was no fluke, after a rather more subdued struggle to a draw against ten man Chivas last weekend.

Meanwhile in Utah, we should have a really intriguing game, as for the second time this season two of the league’s more pleasing technical sides clash. Real Salt Lake vs LA Galaxy (Sat 4pm, Rio Tinto Stadium, NBCSN). Salt Lake edged the opening day encounter in LA, no thanks to some interesting refereeing decisions, while LA are, as they say, “free to concentrate on the league”, having earned their freedom in rather traumatic fashion in Tijuana earlier this week. Pre-season some looked at RSL’s opening schedule and thought new coach Jeff Cassar may have been up against it early on, but four points from six on the road against Western opponents has given him a nice platform, while LA will be anxious to stop CCL disappointment turning into an early season slump. Whatever happens this is one of the weekend’s big games, so we asked RSL Perspective’s Denzel Eslinger and Corner of the Galaxy’s Josh Guesman to consider their two side’s respective fortunes ahead of this one. First up, Denzel:

The core of the team has stayed together for another season so the impact of the coaching change has been minimized for now, but I think in the match against LA you saw some fairly aggressive subs, all of which made a positive impact on the match. Against San Jose the heartbreak of that stoppage time equalizer was a bummer, but a larger concern were the injury issues and concerns that came out of that match.

Thankfully Nick Rimando appears to be all right but it sounds like Aaron Maund and Jordan Allen both will be questionable for this weekend, but we could see Javier Morales return to the lineup which could provide a big boost. All in all given the difficult nature of the first two months of the RSL schedule, the start has been a pleasant surprise.

I expect that the match Saturday will be as exciting as the first one, as often is the case with these two sides it comes down to who can finish their chances and right now for RSL it has been the Joao Plata show as he looks poised for a breakout year. I can’t wait until Saturday to see what happens, and am very happy a national TV audience will get to see what should be a great match from Rio Tinto Stadium.

And here’s Josh’s take on just what shape LA are in after this week’s CCL exit:

Whatever focus or composure the LA Galaxy put together in the preseason was just shattered across a turf field south of the border. LA’s first 45 minutes against CONCACAF Champions League rivals Club Tijuana hit the reset button on the Galaxy’s progress — and they have little time to recover.

Now preparations are under way to face off against a Western Conference foe away from the friendly confines of StubHub Center. Real Salt Lake is always a test. No, you’re not mistaken: this is the same team the Galaxy just played in their season opener. That game saw LA dominate on the field but not on the scoreboard, falling 0-1 to RSL.

These are evenly matched teams with a rivalry born in playoff disappointments and MLS Cups. A win by either would be seen as statement — and it’s one LA’s desperate to make.

The Galaxy attack needs to be better than their season opener. Samuel’s pairing with Robbie Keane has only produced one goal so far — against Tijuana, and it was only after Rob Friend’s introduction in the second half that the Galaxy had any hope of production. Playing direct, it seems, works best when you have a 6’ 5” Canadian buzzing around. Quick goals will be key at Rio Tinto. And it will be up to Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan to lead a struggling team safely out of their desert of disappointment.

Onwards, and amid the attention paid to Jermain Defoe’s goal exploits last week, most people were caught by the able play of the supporting cast — and not only the indefatigable Michael Bradley. Toronto vs DC United (4pm Sat, BMO Field, TSN) gives the home fans the chance to see if their side truly are coming together into a potent force, while the patience-of-a-saint DC United fans wait to see if their own overhauled squad of eclectic veterans can come together and give Eddie Johnson a similar platform to that enjoyed by Defoe. One of last year’s garbage match ups, is one of this year’s intriguing early season clashes.

You have to be really intriguing to earn a coveted Guardian fan preview these days though, and without further ado we’re off to Colorado, where Pablo Mastroeni got his coaching project underway last week, with a credible draw against New York, though sadly young midfielder Dillon Powers, just back from concussion, took another knock to the head in that one. It’s Colorado vs Portland (Sat 6pm, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Altitude/Root Sports) and it gets our Intriguing™ seal of approval for that new Colorado regime coming up against a Portland side who, far from being early frontrunners, have been grateful to rescue a couple of late points in their two games so far, and who won’t want to push their luck any further lest we start talking about “early season wobbles” (you wouldn’t like us when we talk about “early season wobbles”). Anyway, here’s Colorado fan Todd Haggerty and Timbers Army member Roger Anthony to fill us in on exactly where these two sides are at coming into this weekend. First up Todd:

Thank you replacement referees. The ‘Pids were gifted a penalty, and a valuable road point, in the team’s season opening match with the Red Bulls. Overall the match was uneventful, but the performances by Dillon Serna and backup keeper Joe Nasco were promising. Grabbing a point from the holders of the supporters shield on the road is a pretty decent debut for head coach Pablo Mastroeni. Good vibrations aside, the confusion and combativeness demonstrated by Hinchey and company during the offseason continues to be the elephant in the room. It could also be that Rapids are using ineptness as a clever way to save the team money. However, winning erases all memories, so if the ‘Pids can pick up all 3 points in their home opener against the Timbers, the mood may change.

And does Roger Anthony think that’s going to happen?

The Timbers have been unimpressive thus far, opening with a pair of draws at home. With a roster bolstered by the acquisition of two experienced Argentines (at sub-DP prices) no one imagined that conventional wisdom about the club would be, ‘Hey, it could have been worse.’ Faith remains high, but the Timbers Army is running a few decibels lower while the club struggles to build momentum.

Feeding the frustration is the fact that problems which surfaced during the team’s pre-season tournament don’t seem to be resolving themselves. The defenders still struggle mightily on set pieces: After finally notching the tying goal against Chicago last weekend, the club left Fire CB Bakary Soumare wide open for a back post header in stoppage time that required a Save of the Week contender by Portland GK Donovan Ricketts to avoid losing to a 10-man side.

As for the offense, it’s ironic that after the Timbers put in new turf and widened the field over the winter, because Portland currently features an attack squad that gravitates toward the center of the pitch and grinds to a halt when the penalty box comes into view.

The Timbers and the Rapids met three times last season, playing to a 2-2 draw in their 30 March match in Denver. That was the second game in a 15-match unbeaten streak. Counting preseason, Portland has played nine games and scored but nine goals. It may take another two-goal explosion for history to finally start repeating itself.

While that game’s going on, channel hoppers with very thorough cable packages can switch between it and Columbus vs Philadelphia (Sat 6pm, Columbus Crew Stadium, CSN-PHI/TWCSC-OH), to see two sides who’ve made positive starts to the year. The Crew’s convincing opening day road win against DC has set up expectations nicely for their home opener, while the Union are looking very dangerous, not least due to Sebastian LeToux rediscovering the form that at one point made him such a threat for the Union (before Peter Novak sent him on his travels). If they get a result here, they’ll begin to look very much like early pacesetters in the East (with the caveat that the Dynamo don’t play this week, of course).

Later on Saturday evening we get to see two teams sadly swopping Mexican souvenirs. It’s Sporting KC vs San Jose Earthquakes (Sat 8.30pm, Sporting Park, CSN-CA+/KMCI-38) — both sides “fresh” off their midweek Champions League adventures. For San Jose, a valiant effort saw them just edged on penalties by Toluca, after an Alan Gordon goal was controversially judged to be offside during extra time. Concacaf’d indeed. Meanwhile Sporting will have to return to tell Chief Executive Robb Heinemann that to “now go and win the Champions League”, as he supposedly told Peter Vermes on the field after MLS Cup, is still a little harder than it looks…

Anyway, we asked Mike Kuhn of Down the Byline in Kansas City, and Robert Jonas of Center Line Soccer in San Jose, to check in from the lines to get back across the border and give us their take on what to expect this weekend, and whether the Champions League adventures had put early season strains on roster depth. Mike says no:

Sporting KC finishes up their busy start to the season with their fifth game in 15 days, this one against the Earthquakes. Peter Vermes so far has done a good job of rotating some guys in and out, only three (Besler, Feilhaber, and Kronberg) have started all four games so far. The rest have been part of the squad rotation. Whether that has fully had the desired effect can be debated after starting the season giving up two late goals, turning four points into just one in league play while at the same time bowing out of the CONCACAF Champions League.

The CCL series just fell apart for KC in the second half of the second game against Cruz Azul, as a combination of injuries, tired legs, Cruz Azul’s pressure, and the Mexico City altitude all got to the team. By the end of the game KC had their third choice right and left backs in the game, and Cruz Azul exploited it greatly. They were the better team over the 180 minutes and deserved to go through.

But of the three MLS CCL teams, KC is the only one that didn’t request a league game be moved to help with CCL preparations. Part of that has to do with the fact that they were the only one of the three to qualify for the 2014-2015 CCL and moving a game would add further congestion later in the season. All that said, I think the rotation that KC did do in the first four games will help them quite a bit as they head into the rest of the season with three competitions going on later this year.

Meanwhile Robert’s casting his eye over a battle weary San Jose squad:

The San Jose Earthquakes almost made history this week in the CONCACAF Champions League, coming a missed penalty kick from Shea Salinas away from knocking off heavily favored Deportiva Toluca FC and becoming the first MLS club to ever win a two-leg series on Mexican soil. Instead, the near miss, after a stunning 120 minute defensive display with a makeshift lineup against the second best team in Liga MX, will hopefully serve to propel the Earthquakes forward in the still young MLS season. No one outside of the Quakes locker room had the team advancing in the tournament, so for it to come so close might serve as motivation in the coming weeks and months. A lull to kick the season off would invoke memories of 2013, a season most in San Jose want to put behind them.

The roster features a mix of old and new in Quakes black and blue, with notable fresh faces Andreas Gorlitz, Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, and Yannick Djalo all arriving in San Jose with significant experience playing in Europe. Exciting rookie JJ Koval has already made his mark with impressive turns in midfielder and at center back, and MLS veterans Khari Stephenson, Brandon Barklage, and Shaun Francis were added to provide needed depth on the squad. However, for the Earthquakes to erase the disappointment of last season’s failure to make the playoffs, it will be up to the spine of the team to deliver. Chris Wondolowski and Steven Lenhart up top, Sam Cronin in the middle, and Victor Bernardez and Clarence Goodson in the back all need to stay healthy and productive for San Jose. The early results are encouraging -- three draws in three matches -- but the Quakes can ill-afford to have a slow start to 2014, and a measuring-stick match against MLS Cup champions Sporting Kansas City will be a true test for a team with high expectations.

Saturday concludes with FC Dallas vs Chivas USA (Sat 8.30pm, Toyota Stadium, TWCSN-TX) as the Oscar Pareja revolution tries to gather pace. Dallas have four points from their opening two games, and if last week’s draw at an understandably preoccupied Sporting KC didn’t necessarily tell us a lot, this week’s match up may have us taking a little more notice of one of these sides when it’s over. Chivas after all, have 4 points of their own from their start, and despite playing with ten men for most of last week’s game against Vancouver, pulled off a draw and almost a win — largely thanks to the constant running of Mauro Rosales and some hard work up front by Eric “Cubo” Torres. I was at the game and was impressed by the team’s resilience, if not exactly their elegance. Still it was hard to begrudge that fan base something to cheer about.

Only one game this Sunday, and it’s Chicago Fire vs New York Red Bulls (Sun 3pm, Toyota Park, Unimas), which gives us the chance to see which Chicago Fire we’re supposed to believe — the one that fell over against Chivas in week one, or the one that almost got a result in Portland last week. Meanwhile New York will be trying to complete their ongoing rehabilitation from their week one disaster in Vancouver, and also anxiously awaiting the next part of Thierry Henry’s promised celebration film triptych inspired by the Dogme movement and America’s Most Extravagant Home Videos (Fox). They may have to wait another week — Chicago’s been a tricky place for the Red Bulls to go of late.

As usual, we’ll be watching all the above so you don’t have to (though you might want to). Have your say on your team’s prospects below and we’ll see you back here on Monday to see exactly what we learned this weekend.

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